38 DAYS LATER

6-5-13

I'm back in LA, back to work, back to writing, back to reorganizing my apartment, working out, running, visiting with friends.

In fact I've been back more than a week now.

Already the trip is fading.

Not permanently, (I'm not senile yet! :), but the intensity of it.

Sure, I look at the photos and peek through my journal and see all the amazing things I did and felt and saw. When I see Alicia back here in LA it's fun to reminisce and think of what we did. We're so fortunate to be able to take trips like this and see the world that is out there.

I wanted to type up a "in conclusion" of the trip. Something that sums up the observations... but it's strange how some of them are probably already lost to time. Still, I'm going to do my best to give some final thoughts on the Southeast Asia Odyssey 2013.

1.  TRAVEL is AWESOME!

If you haven't figured that out yet, I haven't done my job or expressed how I feel. :)

Pick your destination. Buy your ticket. Pack your bag and go.

Trust me, it's possible to find the time. It's possible to have the money. If I can do it, so can you.

It's a matter of prioritizing what's important. If your $5 starbucks a day gives you more joy than a couple weeks in Indonesia, then keep drinking the Starbucks. (By the way, they have those in the touristy spots over there so you won't be left out.:) But that $5/day ads up to a plane ticket very quickly. And the memories of those two weeks will likely be better than that caffeine fix... just a guess.

2. INDONESIAN thoughts

I love Indonesia. I never thought it would rank so highly in the cool places I've visited. Sure I only saw a fraction of the 17,000 islands, but I saw enough to make me love it. From the safe, yet exotic Bali to the wild west of Flores. It's my kind of place. So many things to do, beautiful places to see and wonderful people to meet. You can be as rough and tumble or safe and pampered as you'd like. The price is right, the place is paradise. Go.

3. MALAYSIA thoughts

Who knew? Malaysia is way more modern than I expected. Nice roads. Great food. Wonderful people. It consistantly surprised me at every turn. I would arrive someplace, think "hmmmm, this isn't what I was hoping for" and be 100% on board in less than a day. Every single time.

And the food! Yep, so good. Go. Eat. If you're a foodie you've gotta go there. Yum Yum.

4. And both these places are predominately Islamic.

And no I didn't feel unsafe. No there were no "terrorists" lurking at every corner. No Islam does not make one evil.

It baffles me from both sides of this stupid battle between Islam and Christianity. The religion does not make one evil, or close minded, or violent or radical. It's the people who choose to use religion as their war cry. Neither of these religions preach murder. And every time I visit these wonderful places with wonderful people who might believe something different than me I am grateful to see their faith. To see that they care so much about what they believe in.

And it was really interesting to see how each country embraced it differently. In Indonesia it seems like they don't just do the call to prayer 5 times a day over the loud speakers. They do the whole prayer! 20-30 minutes. I heard far fewer calls in Malaysia. In fact there was a heavy blending of religions there. Even though the country is official Muslim, all religions are welcome. Believe what you want.

Isn't that how it should be?

5. SINGAPORE thoughts

With only the 1 day it's hard to say I really saw Singapore. It was a great experience since I've heard so much about Singapore and how clean it is (true) and how many rules it has (also true) and how many strange laws they have (also true. No gum. No Urinating in Lifts. No this. No that). But again. Nice people. Sure it's a big city and things are moving along rapidly. But it was a fascinating mix of different cultures (Chinese, Singapore, Indian). And of course, having a friend there to show me around made it even more awesome. Friendship around the world. That's a great reason to travel too.

6. HONG KONG thoughts

Love it. New York meets Asia. Energy. Excitement. I love the weather: bring me a thunderstorm any day. The harbor is amazing. The trains rules. And Disneyland. Oh yeah. And I barely saw a fraction of it. So much more to see. I'll enjoy catching up on my Hong Kong cinema now that I've been.

7. Food.

Did I mention the food on this trip was amazing? I'm not a foodie. I don't get all googly-eyed over food. But damn, this was a tasty place to eat. So many types: Indonesian, Balinese, Lombok-ian, Malay, Indian, Chinese, Dim-Sum, Indian, Western, Indian... did I mention how good the Indian food was? :)

8.  Perspective

Every time I travel I like to get out of my comfort zone. (Leeches, here I come!).

I think it's important, I'd even say critical to my life.  And honestly for everyone's lives, to get out of our comfort zone.

It's easy for people to have their worlds shrink. Mine can. If I'm in LA to long I'll lose some of my gusto. Some of my free spirit. I think it's just part of how human beings are wired. If we aren't getting out there, seeing and doing new things, then what we will be OK tends to become less and less. I'm not saying we'll get in fights or run away in fear if something new happens. But we'll shrink away. We'll choose the comfortable path. I know I do it. I doubt I'm alone in this.

So getting out to see the world is my way of forcing myself to expand. To open up to all the amazing things the world has to offer. To interact with people that I might shy away from in normal life. Sure, there were times on this trip that I was uncomfortable. That boat ride with 25 people. The first afternoon I was not feeling it. I knew it was going to be cramped and their was no place to sit and chill... but a strange thing happened. By the 2nd, and 3rd and 4th day I was suddenly fine. It was okay to be in such close quarters with people. Sure, there were times with a bit of annoyance or need for space. But it's awesome how I could find my own space when there wasn't any. How we got comfortable being right on top of each other. Sure, by the end of it I wanted to get the heck off the boat, but now I know that I will be fine if I'm in such close quarters with people.

And the leeches. The jungle. The nasty.

It was dirty. Wet. Stinky. Awesome.

Very quickly the jungle makes you it's bitch. And being able to adapt in that environment was great. If I'd had another day I think I really would have gotten comfortable with that level of uncomfort. :) Yes, it's nice to have a perfectly climate controlled house and car and have everything clean and a shower. But its surprising how important dry feet become when that's all you can get. Just dry feet. It's good to be aware of how little I need to be happy...

That's always a great lesson I learn and relearn. When I'm backpacking I have so little with me. So few clothes, so few items. I always, on every trip, feel like I have too much stuff. When I'm packing I think "I'll need this and that and this and that", but once I've got my See Legs and am on my way, I think I could get by with half the items. And I only have a small bag to begin with. :)

Maybe travel isn't your way to find perspective. Maybe you like to cook, or draw, or play sports, or meditate, or... But listing off all those things. None of them do for me what Travel does. Not even close.

So I will urge you to try it. Push you even. Do it. Get out there. Don't be afraid. And if you are... face your fear down. Stare it in the eye and tell that fear to kiss off. Your confidence will grow. Your heart will grow. Your mind will grow. YOU will grow.

See what you're made out of. Likely you'll be surprised.

This is Craig Ouellette,

Last surviving member of the Nostromo

Signing off.

Flores.

WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

--> May 21, 2013

We've got fun and games.

We've got tons of leeches

Sucking your bloody veins.

Ahhhhhhh the jungle.

Wet.

Muddy.

Filled with bees and bugs. Vines and trees. Leeches and leeches and oh did I mention leeches?

So in Taman Nagara National Park I decided to do a two day / 1 night Jungle trek where we sleep in a fricking cave!

There were 7 of us and the guide. Three folks were doing two nights. The rest of us the one.

We showed up with our packs and some extra clothes and then found out we had to carry our own food and supplies. Normally one might prepare for this, but it was a bit of a surprise, though completely obvious that we should. Who else will? The jungle men?

Loaded up, I had an extra backpack on the front and we go to the boat. It slips us up the river and to the canopy walkway. I think it's the longest in the world or something, but half of it was closed. Still, it's 100 feet off the ground and very shaky and cool.

2 hours more on the boat and we begin our hike. Everyone is sweating, but it's fortunately not that hot. We are careful to avoid the muddiest patches and walk on roots and rocks to skip streams... until we hit the first creek. It was a foot deep and 10 feet wide and we're getting wet. From this point on it was really pointless to try to dodge the mud or water and I can tell you, that speeds up the pace a lot! There comes that point in a nature journey where you just have to accept how filthy you will get, and once you do it's much more fun!

This is the official "Before" photo...

We hiked 8-10km the first day. About 6 hours worth. It was tiring. And at every stop there were leeches on us. Little wormy, trembling leeches. I've never actually seen one before and it was odd to. They're so small and they move so erratically. Becuase we had pants tucked into socks, they were most often just trying to find a way to our skin. And sometimes they did. I pulled one off my foot and the wound bled for a long time. It didn't hurt. But it's strange to watch. When we stopped near the end of the hike, Monja had a HUGE blood filled leech on her knee. It was nasty. Blood ran down her leg like crazy. It was like a hidden beast under her pants... um, you know what I mean. :) At every stop we would check our feet, legs, and I'd check my junk. I'm not ending up all "Stand By Me" with a huge leech on my balls.

Bloody good fun

We stopped to rest in a little cave and the bees came out. Hundreds of them. Attracted to the sweat on our packs. I tried to go zen and not have them effect me, but eventually the buzzing became to much for everyone and we grabbed the packs and hustled away. Only to stumble into a wasps nest.  I'm not sure who touched it, but they went crazy. Buzzing around. Starting to sting people. We were bottled up at a creek / rock crossing and no one could move as Tek from France started crying out as he was stung. I jumped down into the mud and hustled along and others followed me. We all made it through. Fortunately these weren't the bad kinds of wasps and the stinging went away quickly... versus the person being paralized or dying.

Make a wrong step and you're knee deep in the mud. Hell, make a right step and you're knee deep in the mud.

We reached the cave at 6pm. It was getting dim and dark. But it was super cool to stay there. There were bats, but few insects. We all went down to the stream and rinsed off. It was fun. We were all careful at first, just rinsing our hair or arms, but then went for it, and were washing our clothes wearing only underwear. What the hell? We're covered in so much mud. We were going native!

We ate in the cave and slept on camp mats. No need for sleeping bags, as it was so hot and humid. The cave was probably 100 feet tall and was mostly two big chambers with some small off shoots. And a large opening near the upper wall which would let light in... sort of... during the day.

Home sweet home

Sleep came easy even on the hard ground.

I woke up in darkness. Total darkness. The candles having burned out. I switched out my headlamp and walked over to pee. On my way back four eyes stared at me from not 10 feet away from our sleeping bags. They watched me, glowing in my headlamp. They would jerk around. My light isn't bright so it was hard to make them out. Rats? They'd be reallllly big if they were. Porcupines? Probably, that's what Sam (the guide) said would come to eat the left over food. I watched for awhile, and it was creepy to be there alone with them. But finally I laid down to sleep...

... CRASH!

I sat up. And so did Sam. He turned on his very bright light and indeed the porcupines were eating the food. Along with a rat with the longest tail I've ever seen. Others started to wake up and watch. I was creeped out at first with the rat, but then thought: In this situation, what's the difference between the porcupines and the rat? This is their home.

I had a lot of wild dreams.

The cave was dim as we woke in the morning, slowly ate, packed and headed out. The hike was 6km. About 4 hours. Over roots and mud and creeks and more. We smelled TERRIBLY in just one day. our clothes ripe and nasty. I can only imagine what it would be like to be in the jungle for weeks on end. Whew.

When we reached the jetty and the boat picked us up it felt great. So nice to take off shoes and head back towards civilization.

Yahoo, the boat! We won't have to eat each other!

We stopped at an Oran Ansi village (original people) to learn about the blow pipe. And I was struck with the strange image. They're Black. I wouldn't have expected that in Malaysia, but they looked almost African. Fascinating how people have moved around our world, or perhaps developed independently yet similarly in different places. The Blow Pipe was cool, I want one.

Back in town I took a hot shower and rinsed off the muck and mud. It's amazing how important and wonderful things that we take for granted are when they have been removed for even a couple days.

Craigo

OPPA PA-NANG STYLE!

May 12, 2013

Heeeeyyyyyyy Scenic Vistas,

Op, Op Op-a Pa-Nang Style!

Heeeeeyyyyyy great museums,

Op, Op Op-a Pa-Nang Style!

Heeeeeyyyyyy hot as ball sacks!

Op, Op Op-a Pa-Nang Style!

I've really enjoyed Pa-Nang. It's a busy, energetic place. There's all these different neighborhoods: Little India, China Town etc, which are so specifically filled with folks of that persuasion it's amazing. And they are right across the road from each other. China Town is full of places to stay, Chinese temples, hawker carts and food spots. Little India is all pastel buildings, Bollywood music pumping from bootleg DVD stores, and women in Sarees. It's awesome.

And the food. HOLY CRAP BALLS is (most) of it reallllllly good.

From the Nyonya food. To one of the best Indian Kurma's I've ever had. Oh yeah, if you're a foodie, this is your spot. You can eat at posh restraunts (which might cost you $15 USD a plate) to stalls on the street that are $3 USD a plate. Either way, you'll (most) likely get good food. Great food.

It may not look like much... but WOW is it good!

For my last day here I went to the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, and had a great tour full of fun stories about the "Rockefeller of the east". They have cup mosaics, built from pieces of colored china cut into pieces, that took the artisans 4 years to recreate and cost a 50% of the restoration budget. But it's one of the few places in the world (other than huge temples in China) where you can see it.

On to the Panang museum for some history of the area. Then a sweaty ass walk to Fort Cornwallis. It was so hot by this point I could hardly function, so I didn't enjoy that to much. But to Air Con in the Indian restraunt and the orgasmic food made up for it.

Then off by moped to Kek Lok Si Temple. Since the roads here are so often 1 way and they force you into loops and turns and there isn't very good signage, it took awhile to get there. Got to see a lot of the city though! The temple is a pagoda on a hill. There's an enourmous bronze statue behind it. I barely made it before close, but got up to the top and saw good views.

I chose this, not because it really captures the view, but that level of sweat was continuous in Penang. :)

Then as evening approached and it got cooler, I explored up this road into the hills... and found a recreation area dam. There were mountain bikers in full gear. Runners. Walkers. Families. And not trash. And I thought: this feels like home. Malaysia really must be doing better than a lot of SE Asian countries, because people have time and money for recreation and exercise. Ironically, because they have easier physical lives (like us westerners), they might need the exercise, as I've seen more chubby folks here than in Indonesia.

I took pics of the views of the city and went swinging on the swings! Fun! Then walked about 50 feet into the woods on a trail and there were noises in the trees. Monkeys. A whole group of them. Leaping and swinging and climbing. So often you see monkey's on tours or on beaches with lots of people. But to be in the darkening forest with the monkeys as they played and crashed and ate was sort of surreal. They would look at me occasionally and climb in my direction, but never got very close. 

The Malaysians are super nice and friendly. They're always helpful when asking about stuff, even if they don't speak much English. Which brings up the fact that many folks here speak some, but it's not as much as I was lead to believe. And ironically, sometimes they're speaking so fast and with this interesting sing=song accent that I have a really hard understanding. It's funny, because I know they're speaking English, but have no idea what they're saying. :)

I headed up the incline rail to Panang Hill. 2500 feet elevation overlooking the city. It was night. The lights were out. I ate up there and enjoyed the view. I also explored the abandoned amusement park type place. Now, during the day there would be people there. But at night it was very quiet. And what amusement area would be complete without Buddhist temple and Mosque. 

Back to town to return my moped and... CONCERT TIME!

A stage was set up in the parking lot of this hostel and a Chinese gal in fancy costumes was singing. The music was recorded and she was taking requests from the scattered crowd. It was sort of like all request Karaoke. The audience was mostly Chinese, as it turns out this was a birthday celebration for the temple across the street. Many of them were older. 

A lot just watched, but there was a small group of lively folks who were dancing it up. This older woman was super fun. She was hunched over, but she would get up and do this very diliberate 1,2 step with her arms out. Almost like she was running in realllllly slow motion. She had her thumbs up and was having a blast... I think. Because her expression never changed. It was always completely stoic. Only her body language was joyous. Even when I smiled at her as I was dancing, she didn't change her expression. She was so cute. Some other travelers were dancing as well. It was great fun.

 It didn't matter that we all spoke different languages, because we all could dance.

CraigO

PS:  I nearly lost this email thanks to internet dropping out and other things. But fortunately it is mostly in tact. Enjoy!

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT

May 11, 2013

So I'm riding in a bus through Tennessee on my way to Miami Bay Beach. It's nice and green. Mountains everywhere. The 6 lane freeway is flowing smooth and fast. The A/C is blasting on the bus. A line of Lamborghini's zips past. Everyone is staying in their lanes. We stop at a real rest area for a pee and a snack...

... oh wait. Are we on the left side of the road? Is that sign in a different language? And did my driver nearly get in a fight with a passenger.

Yes indeed, I'm in Malaysia folks!

Been here for a few days and have to say that I'm suprised at how modern everything is. Subways. El-trains. Monorails. Roads that are actually wide enough for cars to go each way. Bullet trains. High rises. Shopping malls with all the boutique stores. A movie theater showing Iron Man 3 (for $4 or $7.50 in 3d). (I almost went but it didn't time out right!) A surprising lack of smokers. And just about the most diversity I've ever seen. When I got on the subway in Kuala Lumpur (KL) the cross section of Malays, Indians, Chinese, Muslims, folks in shorts and T-shirts, in mini-skirts, the combo was pretty awesome.

I landed at the airport and it was as nice as any I've seen. I rode a bullet train into town. My hostel was slick and modern.

I spent my one day in KL going to the Batu caves, which are a holy Hindu sight with 260 stairs and the largest statue of Murga in the world. There's also a Dark Cave that has a good eco tour with a great guide who tells you all about it. I wanted to go spelunking, but haven't found a place to do that yet.

The rest of the day I spent in and around the Patronas Towers. Eventually going up to the sky-bridge and the 86th floor observation deck at sunset. It was cool to be able to have a view of the city, and the mirror image building that you're in. Usually you can't do that from a big observation deck. Really cool.

Officially Malaysia is an Islamic country, though there is freedom of religion, so there are many Hindu, Confuscionists, Taoists and even some Christians too. It's the first place I've been that had a sign "No Indecent Behavior" and a silhouette of a couple kissing on the subway. And at the beach. And the national park. Seriously: DO NOT KISS each other. Jeez people. Way to risque!

I took a bus up to Georgetown, which sort of feels like New Orleans. With tight streets and colonial archetecture, albeit British and not French. There are tons of flop houses, bars, reggae places and things to do. At first I thought: hmmmm, not so sure about this, it feels kinda junky. But it grew on me fast. Especially when I found a private room with AC! and fan! and bathroom! for $15USD! wooo! It ain't a palace, but that AC is cranked!

Met some folks who are biking from Germany to Australia. Yep. And another biker going from Indonesia to Japan. Biking. Crazy! That'd be an adventure. It was fun to drink Tiger Beer and swap stories.

And we also had Nyonya food. It's a local food that exists pretty much here and is HOLY COW GOOD!! Really tasty. Panang (the island Georgetown is on) is known for it's awesome food. I'm looking forward to trying more.

TOday I rented a scooter and cruised to the National Park. The scooter guy was this cantankerous Chinese/Malaysian man who was so funny. He talked fast and was crassy. Enjoyed it. 

I met some other travelers and we hiked through the jungle for 1 1/2 hours to Turtle beach (which had Turtles. They're under protecxtion and being prepped for release). Then took a boat to Monkey beach (which had no monkeys). Hmmmm. Couldn't swim to deep because of jellyfish, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

Malaysia is an interesting place. Looking forward to seeing more. Mountains and the deep deep Jungle.

CraigO